Deception
by Coqui's Song
Summary: Hollyleaf escapes the tunnels and flees to the mountains, where she convinces the Tribe the Clans have become evil. AU of Sign of the Moon.
1. Prologue

**With this story, I prove my insanity. I had no mention of this in my poll. And yet I write it. Don't ask. **

**Anyway, basically an AU of Sign of the Moon, since I wasn't thrilled with how it turned out.**

_Deception_

By:_ Coqui's Song_

Prologue

_The tunnel collapsed, leaving his sister _crushed under the weight of the stones and dirt. The ground swirled under his paws, and the gray tabby darted forward and began to claw at the dirt frantically, not thinking about what he was doing, trying to get to his poor sister who was now undoubtedly being suffocated under all the weight of the collapsed tunnel.

In his panic he heard his brother meow soothingly, trying to calm him, although his tone carried his grief. "Stop, Jayfeather. She's gone. She's dead."

"No!" Jayfeather refused to believe it, even as Lionblaze echoed his more logical thoughts. He needed to save his sister. There was no way she could have died. He continued to dig, ignoring Lionblaze's warnings that if he dug anymore, he might cause another collapse and if by the slim chance Hollyleaf was alive, she wouldn't survive the second.

"Jayfeather," pleaded Lionblaze, and his brother gently pressed his pelt against his for comfort. "I know it's hard to believe she was just standing here, talking to us, but she's gone now."

Suddenly shocked out of his mindless scramble to find his sister under all those tons of rock, the medicine cat stumbled back, shaking. His claws throbbed with pain and he lifted them, although unable to inspect them because of his blindness. He took a quick swipe at them with his tongue; the taste of his blood and mud intermixed in his mouth, and his claws had been reduced to stubs because of his dig.

Still shuddering, Jayfeather set his paw down and lifted his head up. He could almost see the swirl of stars in the sky.

A heavy despair, as crushing as the rocks above his sister, entered him. There was nothing he could do to save his sister. "She's dead," Jayfeather whispered, just coming to this realization. "I'll never see her again, not even in StarClan. Hollyleaf's dead."

He choked on his words, and the two brothers stood there, staring at Hollyleaf's grave for what seemed like seasons. Then Jayfeather felt his brother move away.

"Come on," said Lionblaze quietly. "Let's get back to camp and tell Firestar that Hollyleaf's dead."

Jayfeather blinked miserably. "We can say she died hunting a squirrel. She'll be remembered as a brave hunter, feeding her Clan. They don't need to know the truth about her death –that she was trying to escape."

The still night air stirred as Lionblaze nodded in agreement. The two cats padded slowly toward camp.

**Ω Ω Ω**

A blue-gray she-cat gazed into the crystalline pool of water, watching over her Clan as she had done in life. She turned to the dark gray she-cat at her right, who was busily cracking fleas. "Dead, one of the Three is dead."

"The darkness has not yet come. Hollyleaf was not part of the Three," stated the dark gray she-cat, her orange eyes flashing. "I think she knew. Why else risk going into the tunnels? She was torn apart by secrets and lies. Perhaps she meant to kill herself, Bluestar."

The former leader of ThunderClan shook her head. "Perhaps. Either way, I fear this is only the beginning of the Three's journey."

**So, just a random prologue to a random story. I would highly appreciate reviews to see if this story's worth continuing. XD**

_**~Coqui's Song**_


	2. The Cave

***coughs* One good thing about being sick is that you can update faster. XD**

**A lot of you said that Jayfeather and Lionblaze were slightly OOC, but I distinctly remember in _Sunrise _Jayfeather lost all thought while Lionblaze was calmer when Hollyleaf "died" ('cause we all know that she's alive, right?). Still, thank you guys!**

**I must mention GoldenRinglets, as her Hollyleaf fic_ The Code Rules All _inspired this chaper. Read her fics guys- she's amazing. **

**And now to thank the reviewers as usual: S. Elise, GoldenRinglets, Moving to Mars, Rowanshade, Queen Of The Pens, Icethroat21, SilverWolf716, The Bookish Owl, R.L Sisters, and Sara Darkotter.**

Chapter One

_Blackness. There was not even a _thin stream of light entering the tunnel due to the sealed entrance. It was completely dark, and she stumbled along, coughing in the damp air, which was clouded by the dust the collapsed tunnel had stirred.

About a fox-length from the sealed entrance, she flopped down, breathing heavily. Her ears pricked as she made out the yowl of grief coming from way above her. With all her might, she stood and padded back to the wall of rock and dirt. She scrabbled in vain at it, and tried to howl back to her brothers, but she choked and began to cough again.

_I'm sorry, Jayfeather and Lionblaze. I can't come back. Even if I could, I wouldn't. I'm sorry._

The black she-cat collapsed down again and closed her green eyes painfully, panting. She drifted off into sleep, too exhausted to move further.

**Ω Ω Ω**

She opened her eyes and saw nothing; just blackness as before. Hollyleaf stood and stumbled along like a blind thing, worse than Jayfeather, for she knew he was used to seeing only black in his waking hours.

Hunger gnawed in her stomach, and suddenly she remembered she hadn't eaten in some time. Not since last night before the Gathering, anyway. Desperately she opened her mouth slightly to scent the air, hoping to smell the underground river. All the former ThunderClan warrior could smell was the dust and dirt. Breathing it too deeply, she began to cough heavily again.

_If I don't get out of here soon; I'm going to die, _she thought, then scowled. Who would care? As far as her brothers and the rest of ThunderClan were concerned, she was already dead. She was better dead than alive anyway.

"Oh, I don't think you'd like dying down here," meowed an unfamiliar voice, the tone edged with sadness.

Hollyleaf's ears pricked and she whirled around, instinctively turning her head to where the voice had come from, though she was unable to see anything except a slight silhouette. It wasn't just the voice that had spooked her, though… he had echoed her thoughts. "Who- who's there? Who are you?"

"I am Fallen Leaves," the tom replied softly.

The black she-cat remained tense. "What are you doing here? I didn't know cats lived under these tunnels."

He chuckled. "I do not live here. I died here."

She cocked her head curiously.

"Come," he mewed. "I'll take you to the river, where you can see me."

Hollyleaf followed Fallen Leaves' scent as he led the way through the winding tunnels, going deeper at times, then feeling the ground rise under her paws. She felt blind, and wondered if she would ever get used to it. She was suddenly very relieved she had a guide. "Are we nearly there?"

"Nearly," the tom answered.

The sound of a rushing river filled her ears, the scent of fresh water flooded her nostrils, and Hollyleaf sighed. At least she was somewhat familiar with this underground cave. She blinked as dim light made her sight spotty, but she was glad to finally see her paws, and especially the tom who was her guide.

Fallen Leaves was a lean ginger-and-white tom, and as he led they was into the cave, he looked back and blinked his green eyes. She couldn't help thinking that he looked slightly ghostly, his body just barely translucent.

"Thank you," she meowed as she settled down by the river. Suddenly she realized she hadn't properly introduced herself. "I'm Hollyleaf, by the way."

"I know," Fallen Leaves replied shortly. "I remember you. You came here, moons ago, with your brothers Jaypaw and Lionpaw."

"Jayfeather and Lionblaze," she corrected, surprised that this cat knew her. "You… you said you died here. Why haven't you gone to StarClan?"

"StarClan?" he questioned, cocking his head. "I know nothing of your afterlife, Hollyleaf. I'm not sure there is one. If there was, I was not allowed in it."

"Why not?" After her encounters with Sol, she had ceased to be surprised by cats who did not believe in StarClan –but she still thought Clan cats should. But Fallen Leaves was not a Clan cat.

"I told you I died in these tunnels," he explained. "I am cut off from above. I died here, and so I am forced to wander these forever."

"That's why you told me I wouldn't want to die down here," she guessed. "Because then I would be down here forever…"

Fallen Leaves nodded sadly. "Exactly."

Hollyleaf suddenly pitied the tom. _How horrible it must be to die down here and stay for eternity, never to see the light of the sun again… _

"I'm sorry," she murmured to him.

He shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it. But I'm glad to have company. It gets so lonely down here."

"It must," muttered Hollyleaf, looking away from him and instead to the river.

A silence stretched out between the two cats.

Her hunger had gone away, but she knew she had to eat. "Fallen Leaves?"

No answer.

"Fallen Leaves?" her tone became a bit desperate. She turned back to where she last saw him. He was gone.

She would have to find her way out herself, but the thought of her getting lost in the tunnels and dying underground scared her so much, she decided to wait. It had been a tiring day. She settled down to sleep.

Hollyleaf could only hope that Fallen Leaves would return to her tomorrow, otherwise she'd be forced to find an exit herself, and she certainly didn't want that, not after his warnings.

As she closed her eyes, his last words echoed in her ears.

_It gets so lonely down here._

Immediately she tensed as a thought entered her mind. He wasn't purposely keeping her down her, was he?

_No_, she thought. _Fallen Leaves seems like a good, honest cat. A cat that wouldn't _lie_ about my life, my birth, the warrior code._ Hollyleaf growled bitterly at the thought of Leafpool and Squirrelflight. She pushed her grudge against them away –for now._ He wouldn't keep me hostage, no matter how lonely he is._

.

It was her hunger that woke her. Hollyleaf blinked in the dim sunlight that filtered through the openings above the cave. She looked around, trying to remember which tunnels lead to ThunderClan and WindClan so she could avoid them, but couldn't. It was a tangle of tunnels, a mystifying labyrinth, and so all she could do was lean down to drink from the fast-flowing river.

She padded around the perimeter of the cave, wondering which tunnel lead to a forest that was not known by any Clan. She tried again. Fallen Leaves said he was lonely. Didn't that mean he would come if she called? "Fallen Leaves? Are you here?"

"Yes," he replied, and she whipped around, narrowing her eyes.

He was standing on a boulder, watching her.

"Why weren't you here yesterday?"

He blinked. "I was here. I left to get you this."

He pawed at something next to him, a tuft of gray fur.

It floated in the air to her and she caught a whiff of the cat's scent. "Jayfeather," she whispered, then she hardened. "Why did you bring me this, Fallen Leaves?"

"You don't intend to return to your Clan," he mewed. "I want you to rethink."

She snorted. "You wasted your time. Where's a way out? I want to hunt."

Fallen Leaves leapt down from the boulder. "Follow me."

He led the way through a long passageway. Her whiskers brushed the walls as she followed, and it seemed an eternity before her eyes detected light ahead. She felt Fallen Leaves step aside.

"You can find the way out yourself now," he murmured.

"Thanks," she replied, and brushed past him into the sunlight.

**So yeah, nothing much to say. Fans of _Greenleaf _have no fear, I plan on updating it in a week or so. **

**I'm just writing this because I kind of needed to. XD The AU will begin... soon...**

_**~Coqui's Song**_


End file.
